Screen Free Time

Screen Free Time is something most people are familiar with.  (and I know I should not end that sentence with a preposition.)  Here in our house SFT usually comes when I just can't take the screens anymore.

Many of you know that we homeschool - if you didn't, now you know - we homeschool.  (Which by the way is one word even though spell check is constantly trying to correct me. click here)  There are so many reasons a family chooses to homeschool, and ours, like many families is a combination of reasons.  I won't go into them right now, but I just wanted to throw that out there.  This post is actually about Screen Free Time.

It seems when we start out the school year I'm usually "super-mom".  I am on top of school.  I am on top of the house.  I am on top of everything.  We follow our schedules.  I prepare things the week before and then the night before, and I feel great!  And then about two weeks in I start to stumble, we let a couple of things slide.  Then three weeks in some more things slide, and by week six - we're in a bad spot.

Well, week six was last week for us and let me tell you, by the end of the week I was about to sign my daughter up for public school.  The problem was not my first grader.  No, she's great!  Doing her assignments, not complaining, enjoying school - the problem was ME!

Our schedule is gone.  My organization is gone.  My house is a mess and climbing back up the ladder of success seems like such a long hard climb.

So, we made a new rule for school days.  All school days are screen free from 8 am - 3 pm unless it is an educational website that has to do with our math, science, or some other assignment.  This eliminates two BIG problems we have - the constant whining and asking to watch a movie or play a computer game and then me losing track of time and letting them watch another movie and play another game... which can wrap into more time than we intended.

Today is our first day screen free.  (I also said that this rule does not apply to me, because much of my other home activities involve some sort of screen) Although, right now this blog writing is just therapy.

Can I be honest though, so far today has been awesome!  I feel like super mom again, even though the house is still a big mess.

Another thing I did today that I'm going to try and keep up with is keeping a bowl of healthy snack food out on the table.  This morning I cut up a melon and left it out with a plastic wrap over it.  Every time the girls whine that they're hungry I send them to the table for a bite of melon.  It has been awesome!  They just go and eat it - and they stop whining.

Today I also mandated that we spend time outside running around.  So we got out the soccer ball and set up some goals and played a rudimentary game of soccer.  And I officially lost.  We ran around and got hot and sweaty and tired for an hour!

After lunch we sat and Amariss read to me while I picked through her hair and then we switched and she picked through mine.  We were pretending we were monkeys looking for bugs.

I know that not all days (infact, most days) will not be like this, but today it feels pretty nice to have a good day and remember that its okay that we had a bad week last week.  It won't be our last one, but it wasn't our first - this is just a part of life.

I'll let you know how we feel at the end of the week.

Any other homeschooling parents have bad weeks?  How do you handle them?

20 and Counting

So, I'm going to step out on a limb here and talk about a subject that is surprisingly very controversial. 

Drum roll please.......


Michelle Duggar!

If you live under a rock, and don't know who Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar (along with their beautiful brood) are -  they are the family behind the hit reality TV show series 19 Kids and Counting.

Yesterday they announced on the today show that they are officially expecting baby #20!  Which, came as a surprise to some, not much of a surprise to others.  I figured it would be coming one of these days.

I have to admit first that I am a dedicated fan of 19 Kids and Counting, I love their parenting philosophy and although I do not really want 19 kids (or more) I do love the way they are raising their children to love and respect each other as well as having a deep a firm knowledge of what they believe and why.  Something I hope to instill in my children. 

Today I adress only 1 small part of the controversy surrounding Jim Bob and Michelle and their desire for as many children as God chooses to give them.  What I've heard from some moms is that becuase of her history of preeclampsia and the premature birth with their last baby, Josie, she is taking unnecessary risk by even allowing herself to get pregnant.  She is putting her baby at risk and she is also putting herself at risk. 

So, here I go...

I am pro-life, and pro-life means life begins at conception and ends at natural death.  "From conception to natural death" as some people would say.  So if infact your claim that Michelle Duggar should not get pregnant again because she is putting the life of her unborn child at risk, then infact you would say to me that I should not get pregnant again becuase I put the life of my unborn child at risk.

I have a greater chance of miscarrying a child than carrying one at this point.  My odds are 2:6.  Not good.  She however has had 1 miscarriage (her very first child) and 1 born prematurely and 2 with preeclampsia.  Out of 19 pregnancies (1 set of twins).  So her odds are much better than mine.  And as my mom made clear to me this afternoon, when I miscarry a baby it is not my baby who has lost, it is me.  My child lives a full life, in heaven, pain free - in the arms of Jesus, something I fully look forward to at the end of my own life. 

And as for the possibility that she puts herself at risk of death by carrying another child.  My own grandmother died in childbirth.  She was birthing her 6th child who also died with her.  The risk of  a woman dying in childbirth today is much lower than it were many years ago, but yet families were still large many years ago.  My piano teacher was 1 of 20 children in her family, and I don't think they were odd balls.  I think Michelle knows the risk but yet, she knows her God better.  She knows that ultimately whatever happens is what is supposed to happen.  She puts a tremendous amount of trust in his hands - which is something I still struggle with. 

Do I think its right for any person to decide what is the "right" number of children for any other family - no.  It's not, it's not your family.  You don't have the right. 

I want a large family someday, 20 kids would be pushing it... but of course I have no idea what God has instore for us.  So, you may think I'm crazy, you may think they're crazy - but why.  Why are they crazy?  Because they love their children? 

There is no crime or crazy in loving your children and knowing that in all things God has the best plan for your life. 

One Born Every Minute

Just to be clear, I really don't like this show.  It's on lifetime and for the most part every mom gets an epidural and pitocin and the birth of a baby is depicted as a very medical thing. 

But tonight I sat down to watch an episode on hulu, mostly becuase I'm tired and have little better to do. (like the dishes and laundry wouldn't be better...)

And although the births were just as usual, pitocin, emergencies, c-sections, and crass family members there was a part in this episode that had me bawling the whole way through.  (and I'm not exagerating, hysterically bawling)

A young mom giving up her twin babies for adoption. I've spent two years wondering if our baby will ever come and here I saw a couple with no other children who had spent 13 years waiting for their babies. 

13 years. 

Oh my heart.  The adoptive mom sobbed and sobbed and I could only but understand a fraction of what she feels. 

Adoption is such a beautiful gift.  Aaron and I hope to adopt children someday, a difficult and scary road.  And this episode only pulled on my heart as I imagine it would for any parent who has longed and wondered when will my baby come? 

a tv birth

It's been a long time since I've blogged.  Time has gotten away from me, and been rather consumed with other things going on in our lives. 

I have no however been without things to say, just without time or motivation to write them. 

As most of you know, I am a Certified Childbirth Educator and am currently pursuing certification through DONA International to recieve my doula certification.

Thus, I have become a birth junkie.  I love childbirth.  I think being a part of such an amazing time of transition in a woman's life is absolutely incredible and maybe I've been drawn to it in part because of our own struggles and difficulties in this area.  Maybe I am fascinated by the miracle of birth and gestation.  Maybe I am just inclined towards it, whichever it is - I love birth.

I also love television, and praise God (I mean that literally) that we do not have reception out here and I am insanely limited on the amount of television I get to watch.  Becuase I would be one of those people who watches it constantly.  I have, however, found a few television shows that I can watch online for free and every so often I pull up my laundry basket to the computer and watch a show and fold several loads of laundry. 

One of my shows featured the birth of a new baby last week, and boy was I excited!  I seriously had high hopes for this birth.  I knew that having watched this show they would do what they could to portray birth in a positive light... they had to, its a decent show.

Anyway, so , 15 min left in the movie the woman was in an argument with her brother in law and her water breaks.  (believable, could happen... Rupture of membranes before contractions start only happens in about 10% of women, but it does happen).    Then, they're driving to the hospital as fast as they absolutely posssibly can.... and the woman is screaming that she's going to have this baby on the car seat.  what?? 

Okay... could happen, not likely.  I mean, 30 seconds ago you weren't even having contractions now your baby is coming out?  Then they get to the hospital, the dad isn't there and within minutes she's pushing the baby out.  Really??  it doesn't happen that fast.  She's sweating and screaming and saying she's tired and can't push and she's been in labor for all of 15 min... thats being generous on the time frame. 

I was a little peeved.  Granted, she wasn't rushed in for a c-section, that would have been bad icing on a bad cake, but it still portrayed birth as this scary, emergency, oh-my-gosh-I'm-gpoing-to-have-this-baby-in-the-car, scenario.  And its not. 

Birth is natural, birth is beautiful, birth can be peaceful. 

Done. end of rant.